The Take Back the Land slogan is a cry for social justice

drawn from the historic anti-colonial and popular

struggles of the Third World, or Global South, and
the Peoples Movements within the US, particularly
Indigenous, Black, Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Hawaiian
struggles for land, treaty rights, self-determination and
sovereignty.
The Land and Housing Action Group (LHAG) issued the
campaign call initiating the present-day Take Back the
Land Movement to honor and build on the critical historic
and structural demands of these peoples movements. We
stand on an anti-settler position, which acknowledges that frst
and foremost all the lands currently held and/or claimed by the
US government rightfully belong their indigenous inhabitants,
not to European settlers and their descendents who acquired
them through genocidal conquest and thievery. Further we stand opposed to the system of land commodifcation and private
possession initiated by European colonization and institutionalized and enshrined within the US constitution and legal custom.
The ultimate, long-term objective of the Take Back the Land Movement is to end this system of land commodifcation. We
call this the decommodifcation imperative. This imperative is rooted in the belief that in order for the human right to adequate
housing to be realized there must be a radical transformation in how land is related to and used. If the present system and
orientation is maintained it undoubtedly will lead to further wealth polarization, displacement, social unrest, food insecurity, water
conficts, deforestation, and species loss. To avoid these calamities a new orientation and system must be created that rebuilds the
commons, is based in communal ownership and economic democracy, and rooted in a relational inter-species approach to land
that respects the inherent rights of all our relations to enjoy the earths bounty.
We recognize that we have many a river to cross in what will undoubtedly
be a protracted struggle before realizing substantive change on this
issue. Notions of individual home ownership are central to the narrative of
the American Dream. Challenging the ideological and amoral underpinning
of this narrative wont be easy, even in historically oppressed communities.
But, it must be done as a critical step in the struggle to help save ourselves
from ourselves and avert the potential catastrophe of ecocide from the over
consumption of the earths resources. The initiative to build a mass direct
action movement through the action initiatives of May 2010 and beyond is
just a frst critical step on this journey.
The Land and Housing Action Group invites everyone to join us in
advancing this vision and realizing its potential. We aim to not just
correct historical wrongs, but to build a more just and equitable society
for all.
Build the Take Back the Land Movement to realize our human
right to adequate housing. For more information on how you
can join or support the Take Back the Land campaign, email
housingrights@ushrnetwork.orgor call404.588.9761.
LAND & HOUSING ACTION GROUP WORKING PAPER #3:
THE MEANING OF THE SLOGAN THE MEANING OF THE MOVEMENT